


Portrait of an Avatar on Fire

by littlebasingse



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, portrait of a lady on fire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26353210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebasingse/pseuds/littlebasingse
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. feeling like a stranger

Asami Sato sat patiently in her stiff wooden chair, taking in the view from the window of her small office at the top of Future Industries Tower in Republic City. It had been a long road to get where she was today, but with her father’s company thriving under her leadership, things were looking up for her. From her desk, she could see a Water Tribe ship pulling into the harbor and heading towards Air Temple Island, home to the last living air benders, descendants of Avatar Aang. She could make out the shapes of Master Tenzin and his family flying across the harbor on their air bison to greet the incoming ship.   
Asami often wondered what her life would be like if she had been born a bender. Her parents were from the fire nation, and though Asami had lived in Republic City her entire life, she adopted red as a signature part of her wardrobe to honor her heritage. It helped her feel like she was a part of something - like she belonged. Asami wasn’t sure that she would have made a good fire bender, but it was hard to deny the privilege that would have come with being born a bender. Though her parents were wealthy, Asami had had to work twice as hard to succeed as a non-bender, which should have made her twice as proud of her success, but often Asami found herself feeling like a part of her was missing.   
Shaking her head and breaking her gaze from the scene unfolding at Air Temple Island, Asami sunk deep into her chair. It wasn’t the most comfortable piece of furniture, and many outsiders wondered why the CEO of Future Industries wouldn’t use her wealth to buy something more practical. Asami didn’t mind. She anxiously traced the carved designs on the armrest with her fingers. The chair was Water Tribe made, shipped specially to Asami from the Southern Water Tribe. It was a gift from a past employer, someone she had done work for in her younger days when her father ran Future Industries and Asami was on a quest to make her own way in life.   
To Asami Sato, no chair could be more perfect than the one she sat in now, tracing the waves beneath her palms.

A swift knock sounded from the door, and Asami was jerked back into reality. She checked her hair in the mirror beside her desk as she stood up, and adjusted the length of her skirt before calling to the door.   
“Come in!” she said in her pleasant business voice.  
Her assistant, a young earth bender named Bolin, walked in cheerfully, clipboard in hand. “Good morning, Ms. Sato! Your new group of interns are ready for their tour.”  
Behind Bolin in the hallway she could see a group of about eight excited recruits, preparing to make their first impression on their new boss.  
Usually, Asami enjoyed working with the interns. They gave her hope, and their passion reminded her why she took over Future Industries in the first place: to build a better world and create a place to foster the next generation of innovators. The internship was advertised across the world, and they always ended up with a wonderfully diverse group of twentysomethings from all nations.   
Today, Asami hoped the interns would provide a needed distraction from the day's festivities, but from the moment she awoke that morning, Air Temple Island was the only thing on her mind. It was almost as if the Water Tribe ship in the harbor was taunting her.  
“Alright, Bolin. I’ll be right out.”

The tour of Future Industries had become melancholy to Asami, who had given it to groups of interns at least three times a year for the past five years, but the excitement of her new employees never ceased. Today, though, Asami was just going through the motions, reciting lines to keep her mind from wandering. Bolin, ever the trusted assistant, caught on to his boss’s lack of enthusiasm and made sure to keep the group on their toes with his signature positive attitude and bad jokes.   
They trekked through the offices of Future Industries Tower, the group chattering about where they might like to end up. The girl from the Fire Nation, Asami overheard, wants to work in marketing. One of the Earth Kingdom boys has an idea about how to make Future Industries more sustainable by using energy from the sun. It made her smile to hear them talk about their hopes and dreams. It was an exciting time to live in Republic City - things were changing every day. The world was almost unrecognizable to what it had looked like even fifty years ago. It was all thanks to Avatar Aang - when he defeated the Fire Lord at age twelve, he had given the four nations a newfound hope and reignited their desire to innovate. Now, Asami couldn't even imagine a world without automobiles racing through the streets of the city.   
A lot of innovation in Republic City was thanks to her own family - her parents had founded Future Industries when Asami was young, and soon the Satomobile was the top-selling motor vehicle on the market. Asami was proud of the legacy she upheld but felt determined to make something of her own, as influential as the Satomobile.

The real highlight of the tour was on the ground level of Future Industries Tower, which housed a small manufacturing warehouse along with a creative space where Future Industries engineers and mechanics were free to test out new designs and ideas - a space where Asami spent most of her time, to the point where Bolin had had a small bedroom built down there for her to spend her late nights, instead of trekking to her lavish apartment on the outskirts of the city.   
The group of interns were quiet with anticipation as they let the industrial elevator take them down to the warehouse. One intern, however; a young woman from the Water Tribe broke the silence. “Ms. Sato?” she asked hesitantly, anxiously fidgeting with her dark hair, which she wore in a style obviously inspired by the famous Southern Water Tribe healer and Avatar Aang’s wife, Katara.   
Asami smiled. “Yes - I’m sorry what was your name again?”  
“Kiri!” she responded, excited to have Asami’s attention.  
Asami smiled and couldn't help but let out a small laugh, her mood lifted by the young woman’s confidence.  
“Nice to meet you, Kiri. What’s your question?”   
Kiri fidgeted a bit as the elevator lurched downwards.  
“Um, are you going to the celebration tonight for Avatar Korra?”  
The group laughed at Kiri’s question, and she blushed, feeling the embarrassment. “Sorry, was that a stupid question?” Kiri asked basfully.  
Asami sighed and smiled.   
“Don’t worry about it, there’s no such thing as stupid questions at Future Industries,” Asami replied, trying to alleviate her intern’s embarrassment.   
“As a matter of fact, I haven’t decided yet.”  
“Oh, okay,” Kiri replied, the group obviously confused by Asami’s answer, but picking up on the fact that their new boss wasn’t eager to continue the conversation. They continued the rest of the journey in silence.

Asami had spent the past three weeks wrecking her brain for what to do. She was sure that she had been invited to the Avatar’s homecoming celebration as a formality. It was Avatar Korra’s first appearance outside of the White Lotus compound in the Southern Water Tribe, and Republic City was buzzing with excitement. Asami Sato was one of the biggest business leaders in Republic City, so it would look bad for the Avatar not to invite her to the celebration. Asami was sure that Korra didn’t even know that she was invited. I’m just another name on a hundred-page long guest list. Asami had been telling herself. She doesn’t want to see me. It’s best if I just don’t go.   
She was planning to fake a cough later that afternoon, and back out of attendance citing her fear of accidentally passing her sickness to the Avatar. Bolin wouldn’t believe her, of course, for he knew her too well. He had been Asami’s loyal assistant ever since she took over Future Industries, and at this point, he was the closest thing she had to a best friend. He knew her better than anyone, and she knew he would lie for her and tell all of Republic City she was suffering from a terrible cold if she asked. Bolin didn’t know why, but he had realized early on that anything involving Avatar Korra was a touchy topic for Asami. She had dabbled with the idea of telling him the truth, but the pain of remembering was hard enough to bear. She feared what saying it aloud would do to her.  
Though Asami told her curious intern that she had yet to make up her mind, Asami ultimately deep down had decided the moment she heard Avatar Korra was coming to Republic City.  
Leave the past in the past. I’m not going.

The final stop on the Future Industries tour was Asami’s own personal workroom. She usually cleaned up her workspace before she brought in visitors, but Asami had been so busy trying not to think about Avatar Korra’s visit that it had completely slipped her mind. She and Bolin exchanged a sheepish look as they headed into the room, realizing they had both royally messed up. It wasn’t that Asami had much to hide, she just… preferred to be perceived as a bit more organized than she was.  
Asami laughed as she led the group into her personal workroom.   
“So, obviously I forgot to clean up,” she added lightheartedly.  
“Yeah, you guys are really getting an exclusive tour now. Usually, I’m the only one who gets to see this!” Bolin chimed in, sensing Asami’s discomfort and trying to alleviate the mood. The interns laughed.  
“Well, feel free to look around. I have no secrets here.” Asami said, trying to remember if she had left anything important out.  
The interns slowly moved around, beginning to explore the workspace.  
“Don’t forget to ask Ms. Sato about anything here that interests you! I’m sure she’d be happy to discuss anything she’s working on with you. We’re a family here at Future Industries!” Bolin added, smiling. He was always so cheerful, Asami often wondered how he did it. Maybe I should ask him to teach me. She thought to herself sarcastically as the interns moved curiously around her space. As Asami was finally starting to feel like herself again, a voice piped up from the corner of the room.  
“Ms. Sato? Have you met the Avatar before?”  
It was the Water Tribe girl, Kiri, who stood in a pile of Asami’s old paint supplies.   
“The Avatar? No, I’ve lived in Republic City my entire life.” Asami responded, forcing a smile that wasn't fooling anyone anymore.  
“Then who painted that?” the young woman asked, voice full of confusion and curiosity.   
Asami turned her head to where Kiri was pointing, her chest filling with dread as she realized what she would see.   
Nearly hidden behind a few old canvases, visible only thanks to the beam of light shining in from the harbor, was a painting unmistakably of the young Avatar Korra, standing alongside an icy cliff face, staring intently with her bright blue eyes into a flame conjured in her hand. There was no denying the signature, painted delicately in a bright white in the bottom right corner of the painting: Asami Sato.  
Asami sighed.   
“That was a long time ago.”


	2. I'm a liar

Five years ago.  
As Asami stepped cautiously onto the docks of the harbor and off of the ship that had carried her across the sea, she was overwhelmed with new sights, smells, and sensations. She had never seen the world beyond Republic City, save some trips to the surrounding mountainside. Asami had never felt brisk Southern Water Tribe air before, had never smelled the saltwater as it crashed onto frozen shores, had never heard the cries of otter-penguins as they slid across the icebergs. Immediately, Asami was in love with this brand new land and found herself wondering why it had taken her twenty years to leave her hometown and explore the world.   
Grasping the handle to her small suitcase and tucking her case of canvases and other miscellaneous art supplies firmly under her other arm, the Republic City heiress headed bravely into the port city of the Southern Water Tribe.   
Asami was used to the bustling streets of Republic City where vendors called at you from all sides while you navigated the crowd, and naively she had assumed her experience was common in all cities and nations, but the Water Tribe streets were strangely quiet as Asami tried to find her destination. She watched in awe as the large fishing boats pulled into the harbor, filled to the brim with all kinds of aquatic animals to be sold and sent throughout the four nations. She looked around for someone to talk to and ask directions from, but everyone seemed busy with their own important task in making sure the boats docked safely. It was a community like Asami had never seen before.  
From the corner of her eye, Asami spotted a man wearing the familiar garb of the White Lotus, the organization that had hired her for her task here. There was only one waiting for her, and he looked like someone she’d seen before but Asami couldn’t place it. He looked like a Water Tribe native, with the sides of his hair shaved and the rest styled in a short ponytail. The man looked like he couldn’t be more than sixty, and, noting his supposed age, Asami wondered why he had been sent to escort her to the White Lotus compound. At first, he looked like every other member of the organization that Asami had interacted with during her interview process until she noticed a unique white-shell necklace and a sharp boomerang strapped across his chest.   
He was also standing next to a large white animal unlike Asami had ever seen in Republic City, and it had a double saddle on it’s back. Asami had a worrying feeling that this might be her transportation out of the city.  
The man looked over and made eye contact with Asami, and he smiled from the corner of his mouth as if he knew something she didn't. Smiling back, Asami waved and headed towards him.  
“Asami Sato! Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe.” the man said warmly, with the cadence of an old family friend.  
“How did you know it was me?” Asami asked softly. The man laughed.   
“Well, the Water Tribe is a pretty monochrome society, and you’re, well… head to toe in red and black. I made an educated guess.”  
Asami smiled sheepishly. She stuck out like a sore thumb, and she was grossly underprepared for the cold weather. Here’s hoping they have some spare clothes at the compound. She thought anxiously to herself.  
“I’m Sokka,” the man said, beaming as he outstretched his hand.  
“And this,” he gestured to the animal by his side, “is Naga! She’s a polar bear dog.”  
Suddenly, it hit Asami where she recognized the man from and she was dumbfounded. Holy flying fire ferrets. She thought to herself. Sokka? The Sokka? As in friend and brother and law of Avatar Aang, the legend of the Southern Water Tribe?  
Asami quickly put down her baggage and materials and took Sokka’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “Hi, Sokka. I’m your new painter.” 

The White Lotus compound where the Avatar was kept was farther outside the city than Asami had expected. It felt farther than it had looked on her maps. She had never understood exactly why the Avatar had to be kept so far away from the rest of the world and be protected by armed guards. What does the Avatar have to be afraid of? she often wondered.   
Aang, the Avatar from before Asami’s time, had spent most of his years traveling throughout the four nations, even after he saved the world and defeated the Fire Lord. I almost went insane living in Republic City for twenty years. Asami thought to herself. How in the world is the Avatar happy cooped up in the Southern Water Tribe?  
The White Lotus was very secretive about the new Avatar. All the world knew was that it was a girl from the Southern Water Tribe and that she was born nineteen years ago. Asami wasn’t even sure of her name. She had heard rumors throughout Republic City that the girl was named Katara, after the former Avatar’s wife, while others doubted if there was even an Avatar at all. When she applied for a job painting a portrait for someone in the Southern Water Tribe, Asami hadn’t even known who her subject would be. But, she jumped at the opportunity to see a new part of the world, and the chance to escape her father for a few weeks. She had gone through three rounds of interviews, testing her skills and her trustworthiness. It wasn’t until she was sent her ticket for the boat to the Southern Water Tribe that Asami learned that she would be painting the Avatar.


End file.
